System and method for secondary promotion gaming in a gaming system

ABSTRACT

Game play in a network of play devices. A network is connected between play devices and a server. The server includes a data structure storing (i) player data, (ii) secondary game trigger data, and (iii) winning outcome data. The server and/or play devices (i) sense data related to a trigger, (ii) display a secondary game having first odds, (iii) display a secondary game having greater second odds in accord with a second trigger condition, (iv) display an outcome for the secondary game, and (v) issue an award.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to, and is a continuation of,co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/368,157, having a filing date ofFeb. 9, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference, and whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/026,957,having a filing date of Feb. 7, 2008, which is also incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[Not Applicable]

MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

[Not Applicable]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems and methods for providing asystem operated promotional or secondary game to player using electronicdevices such as playing gaming machines.

Modern casinos provide players with up to several thousand gamingmachines, often called “slot machines” to play for fun and enjoyment.These slot machines are typically connected to slot accounting andplayer system(s) which monitor the play of the machines for regulatory,accounting and performance purposes. Aside from the regulatory andaccounting requirements, the player tracking system provides a mechanismwhere player's activity can be tracked for purposes of marketing andproviding the players with “comps”, e.g. promotions. These promotionsoffered to player by, for example, cash back, free rooms, meals, showtickets and the like server to drive loyalty between the casino and itsplayers. Successful promotional programs can drive increased businessand casino play and resulting revenues. Casinos often compete againstone another for players using promotions.

Modern slot machines have one or more electronic displays such as CRT,plasma, LCD or other types of displays. It has been known to provide twodisplays on a slot machine—one for the display of the game content andits features and the other display dedicated to player tracking,advertising, promotional and related information. It is also known toprovide one or more displays with “picture-in-picture” capability todisplay game content and player tracking or other information, such aslive video of a sports event, on one or more displays. Suffice it tosay, the player tracking system interfaces with a display at the slotmachine to inform the player and provide apparatus for the player tointeract with the system. This interaction may be to download valuecredits to the slot machine for play, as described in U.S. Pat. No.7,217,190 titled “Cashless Gaming System Apparatus and Method” andissued May 15, 2007 to Aristocrat Technologies, Inc. (the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference) or to download promotional creditsfor play and the slot machine. Typically promotional credits cannot becashed out for value but instead must be played in the slot machine.

Player tracking systems operate by issuing a tracking instrument toplayers such as a machine readable card. These cards can have a machinereadable bar code or can be a smart card. When the card is issued to theplayer, identification information is taken from the player and a playeraccount is established at the player tracking database. When a playerplays a machine, they insert their card with a card reader at themachine. The reader provides an interface with the player trackingsystem and opens the player's account. As the player makes wagers toplay the machine the system tracks information such as time, date,coin-in (amount wagered), jackpots paid (amount paid out to the player)and so forth. Based upon the player's play, such as coin-in, the playeris awarded “comp points” which, depending upon the parameters of theplayer loyalty program can be redeemed for promotional credits, cash,merchandise and services.

It has been known to provide a system driven secondary game though theplayer tracking interface. In this secondary game the system, at certainintervals and to players meeting eligibility requirements including atleast having their loyalty card read at the gaming machine, issues aBingo card to the player and initiates a system wide bingo game. At theplayer tracking interface the player's card is displayed and any matchesare marked and depending upon the number of matches, the player wins aprize.

For slot machines it has also been known to provide a secondary game.For example in U.S. Pat. No. 7,000,921 titled “System and Method forPlaying a Bonus Game” issued Feb. 21, 2006 to Bally Gaming” (thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference) discloses a gamewhere, based upon a trigger event such as symbol combinations in a basegame, time of day or detection of a particular player, a bonus game isprovided. The bonus game provides cards from an abridged deck of playingcards and the player can discard and draw to make a final hand. Thefinal hand is then evaluated against a pay table to determine if thepayer is entitled to an award.

In addition to slot machines, secondary or promotional games can also beemployed with other electronic devices such as cellular telephones, PDAsor other such devices. These secondary games may offer chances atpromotions based upon operation of the device to encourage use of thedevice and promote loyalty with, for example, the cellular serviceprovider.

There is a need for a system based promotional game which provides usersor players with a degree of strategy and control in reaching a winningor losing outcome.

There is a need for a secondary promotional game where continued usageor play can increase the player's chances of producing a winningoutcome.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the invention provides a system for playing asecondary game in a network of play devices of the type having at leastone display, a processor for controlling a display to display at leastone primary device feature, each device receiving serial inputs tooperate discrete operational functions. The system includes a systemserver including a data structure storing (i) account data for eachplayer, (ii) data corresponding to a predetermined secondary gametrigger, said trigger data corresponding to at least one of said serialinputs or primary device feature and (iii) data representing at leastand a schedule of winning secondary game outcomes and awards therefor.The system also includes a communication network to providecommunications between each play device and the server, at least one ofsaid server and/or play devices configured to (i) sense data related tosaid trigger to determine a correspondence with said trigger condition,(ii) control a display to display to the player a secondary game havingfirst odds of obtaining at least one award, (iii) control said displayto display said secondary game having greater second odds upon sensingdata corresponding to a second trigger condition (iv) select and displayat a display an outcome for said secondary game and (v) if the selectedoutcome corresponds to a winning secondary outcome, issue thecorresponding award to the player.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a method for playing asecondary game in a network of play devices of the type having at leastone display, a processor for controlling a display to display at leastone primary device feature, each device receiving serial inputs tooperate discrete operational functions. The method includes storing at asystem server (i) account data for each player, (ii) data correspondingto a predetermined secondary game trigger, said trigger datacorresponding to at least one of said serial inputs or primary devicefeature and (iii) data representing at least a schedule of winningsecondary game outcomes and awards there for. The method also includeseach play device communicating with the server, and configuring at leastone of said server and/or play devices to (i) sense data related to saidtrigger to determine a correspondence with said trigger condition, (ii)control a display to display to the player a secondary game having firstodds of obtaining at least one award, (iii) control said display todisplay said secondary game having greater second odds upon sensing datacorresponding to a second trigger condition (iv) select and display at adisplay an outcome for said secondary game and (v) issue an award if theselected outcome corresponds to a winning secondary outcome.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood when the following detaileddescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichlike characters represent like part throughout the drawings. Theembodiments shown in the drawings are presented for purposes ofillustration only. It should be understood, however, that the presentinvention is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shownin the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a gaming system and method providing a secondarypromotional game.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram for a system and method for providinga secondary promotional game.

FIG. 3 illustrates a gaming system and method for providing a secondarycard game.

FIG. 4 illustrates a gaming system and method for providing a secondarypromotional game in the form of a football game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning to the drawings FIG. 1 shows a diagram of the system and methodfor providing a secondary promotional game. A gaming machine 10 has oneor more video displays shown and a game display 12, top box display 14and player tracking module (PTM) display 16. In a typical casinoenvironment for the present invention there would be several hundredsgaming machines 10 having the one or more displays 12, 14, 16 describedand shown. The gaming machine 10 includes an outer cabinet 18 whichhouses the gaming machine processor, memory and the like as is known inthe art. The gaming machine 10 also has a game interface (not shown)such as buttons or a touch screen interface at the game display 12.

The gaming machine is configured to provide the player with a base gameas is known in the art. The base game can be video Poker, Keno, a videoslot machine presentation, a stepper-type electro mechanical slotmachine presentation, video Blackjack or the like. The nature of thebase game provided at the gaming machine 10 is not crucial to the methodand system of the present invention. To play the base game, as is knownin the art, the player enters a wager and prompts play. The gamingmachine 10 presents either a partial outcome such as an initial holdingfor a hand of video Poker or a winning or losing outcome such as aresult of a spin of the slot machine reels. For video Poker, the playerinteracts through the player game interface by holding a drawingreplacement cards to produce a final winning or losing Poker handoutcome.

The base game is typically presented at the game display 12. The basegame may also present bonus games, as is known in the art, at one orboth of the game display 12 or top box display 14. For purposes of thisapplication, the base game and bonus game(s), unless otherwiseindicated, will be collectively described as the base game.

The gaming machine 10 has a player tracking interface which includes thePTM display 16. The interface and PTM display 16 may be a described inU.S. Pat. No. 7,217,190 titled “Cashless Gaming System Apparatus andMethod” and issued May 15, 2007 to Aristocrat Technologies, Inc. (thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference). This interfaceincludes a reader (not shown) configured to read a player tracking(loyalty) card and to interface with a player tracking system as isknown in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,961 titled “Method for OperatingNetworked Gaming Systems” issued Aug. 12, 1997 to Acres Gaming, Inc.,the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference, discloses playertracking systems and the interface. When a player enrolls in the loyaltyprogram the casino establishes an electronic account which containsplayer specific information and will represent the repository for playerloyalty points accumulated based upon the play of the player. When theplayer plays a gaming machine 10, they insert their card in the cardreader which opens or enables communication with the player trackingsystem so he player's wagers at the gaming machine 10 can be accumulatedas “points”. These “points”, depending upon the rules of the loyaltyprogram, can be redeemed for cash, merchandise, services, promotionalcredits (which can only be used for wagering or for re-bating ofwagering at the gaming machine 10) or other complementary incentives.

The gaming machine 10, also as is known in the art, interfaces with aslot accounting system. Data such as wagers, pay outs, jackpots ormaintenance or security events are transmitted to the slot accountingsystem. This data is used for regulatory and business purposes as wellas providing data used by the player tracking system, e.g. trackingwagers.

Returning to FIG. 1, the gaming machine 10 communicates with acontroller 20 which is configured to detect a promotional game triggercondition. The controller 20 may be a software module at the playertracking or slot accounting system or may be a separate controller. Thecontroller 20 interfaces with a secondary game server 22. The secondarygame server 22 is in communication with a display 12, 14 or 16 at thegaming machine. Where the secondary game of the present invention is tobe played at the game display 12, the base game may be interrupted andthe entire base game display 12 commandeered or a portion of the basegame display 12 used for the secondary game. Alternatively oradditionally the secondary game may be displayed at the top box display14 or the PTM display 16. Inasmuch as the PTM display 16 preferablyincludes touch screen functionality, the PTM display 16 is a preferredvenue for display of and interaction with the secondary game.

With reference to FIG. 2 a flow diagram is shown to illustrate anembodiment of the method of the present invention. At 24 the playermakes a wager to play the base game. Prior to making the wager theplayer has opened up the interface with the player tracking system byinserting their player tracking card in the card reader. At 26 theplayer plays the base game to produce a base game wining or losingoutcome at 28. If the player obtains a winning base game outcome theyare paid an award according to the rules and pay table for the basegame. At 26 the controller 20 tests to determine if a predeterminedsecondary game trigger condition has been met. This trigger conditionmay be one or more of (1) reading a valid player tracking card, (2)player coin-in (cumulative amount wagered) over a predetermined time T,(3) obtaining one or more outcomes at the base game, (4) the systemrecognizing the player upon reading of the player tracking card, (5)consecutive losses at the base game, (6) consecutive wins at the basegame, (6) a particular outcome from a bonus game, (7) time or day, (8)reading of a coupon at the gaming machine 10, (9) a trigger input by thecasino operator or the like. If the predetermined trigger condition at30 the secondary game of the present invention is met, in eitherinitiated in a first instance or re-initiated at 32, the secondary gameis invoked.

FIGS. 2 and 3 provide an example of a secondary game embodied as a cardgame. Upon the player initially triggering the secondary game, such asby having wagered the predetermined amount over a time T, the secondarygame server 22 (FIG. 1) at 32 provides an initial holding of, forexample, two playing cards randomly selected from a data structure 34holding in memory data representing a deck of playing cards. Forexample, the cards may be A♦ 10

. A tone, message or interruption of the base game may take place toinform the player of initiation of the secondary game. At 36 the playercan opt to play the secondary game now or continue play to a later timeto enhance their chances of getting a winning outcome. If the playerelects to play, the player would respond by so electing and thesecondary game server 22 would select and display three more playingcards to produce a five card Poker hand. For example, the secondary gameserver 22 may randomly select from the data structure 34 A♡ 2

5♦ resulting in a hand of a pair of Aces. This secondary game outcome isevaluated at 38 and if the outcome is entitled to an award the playerwould be awarded, for example, a pay out of promotional points, e.g. 100loyalty points, for the outcome at 40. If the outcome is a losingoutcome the player would be awarded 0 loyalty points or preferably aconsolation prize of, for example, 20 loyalty points.

According to the present invention, the player has the ability toincrease their chances or opportunities to receive a winning secondarygame outcome by “building” toward one or more outcomes. For example, ifat 36 the player, upon the initial trigger, elected to continue with thesecondary game, the initial holding of A♦ 10

would be banked in the player's account and the player would continue toplay the base game. The player can move to another gaming machine 10 andhis position in the secondary game is saved since the initial holding isbanked at the player's account. Continuing to play the base game theplayer re-triggers the secondary game at 42 resulting in the secondarygame server 22 randomly selecting from the data structure 34 anadditional card 44 shown as an A

. The player at 46 now has the opportunity or playing the game orcontinuing. Should the player elect to play, the system server 22 wouldrandomly select and display three cards (for example the same three inthe previous example of A♡ 2

5♦) now giving the player three Aces for a higher award. The playercould elect to continue for, for example, up to five cards which, withthe three draw cards, would give the player eight cards to make a fivecard Poker hand thereby increasing their chances of making a high payingPoker hand. As can be appreciated, by electing to continue to play theplayer can build toward an outcome and increase their chances ofreceiving a winning secondary game award. This also encourages playersto continue playing as they build toward an outcome.

The time period over which a player can build toward an outcome may beconfigured to encourage play while providing the promotion. For example,the player may be able to “bank” what they have been building over athree day period before they must elect to complete the secondary gameor before the secondary game server does it automatically for them. Forexample, if the player has banked three cards based upon obtainingsecondary game triggers but discontinues play during the predeterminedtime period, the system would, at the end of the time period,automatically draw the three draw cards and evaluate the outcome andissue any award into the player's account.

The card game version is subject to several modifications. For example,upon achieving a trigger the player may discard and replace one or morecards in the holding to complete a five card hand or cards toward thefive card holding.

As another example of the method and system of the present invention,the secondary game may be embodied as a sports themed game such asfootball. With reference to FIG. 4, upon the player meeting the triggercondition, an initial holding 50 is presenting to the player such as afield goal attempt of 50 yards. The player may have the opportunity tocomplete the secondary game. At 52 the player elects to continue withthe secondary game or try the field goal. If the player elects to try,the secondary game is played to completion. The secondary game server 22randomly selects an outcome such as a weighted table stored in datastructure 54 for attempts of 50 yards giving the player, for example, a1:10 chance of a winning field goal. The result at 56 is displayed atthe PTM display 16 or game display 12 or top box display 14 as animatedor actual footage of a field goal attempt of 50 yards. If the playermakes the field goal they are issued a promotional award such as pointsor other comps (meal, merchandise, etc.).

If the player elects to continue, he plays the base game until at 58 thegame is re-triggered which then presents the player with the propositionof attempting a field goal of 40 yards. At 60 the player elects to try,the secondary game is played to completion. The secondary game server 22randomly selects an outcome such as a weighted table stored in datastructure 54 for attempts of 40 yards giving the player, for example, a1:7 chance of a winning field goal, which is a better chance that theplayer had from 50 yards. The result at 56 is displayed at the PTMdisplay 16 or game display 12 or top box display 14 as animated oractual footage of a field goal attempt from 40 yards. If the playermakes the field goal they are issued a promotional award such as points,free plays or other comps (meal, merchandise, etc.).

As can be appreciated the more the player plays during the relevant timefor the secondary game he can, by re-triggering, increase his chancesfor receiving a winning outcome.

Other examples of the secondary game would be a fishing theme where themore the player plays the more fishing lines the player has in the wateror the more (and bigger) fish and prizes that are presented. Anothertheme may be the more the player plays the more selections the playerhas from a prize pool. For example, at the first trigger the player maybe offered to select from a displayed set of wrapped presents from apool including large and small awards. The more the player plays themore presents are displayed increasing the likelihood of the playerselecting a large prize. The game could also be a Keno or Bingo gamewhere upon each re-trigger the player receives another Keno or Bingocard. For example, on the first trigger the secondary game would award asingle Keno card with six numbers randomly selected. Upon the re-triggeranother card with six numbers randomly selected would be awarded to theplayer. At any time after the first trigger the player can elect to havethe Keno draw. Otherwise the player could accumulate Keno cards untilthe end of the secondary game time period at which time the award of anyadditional cards would be frozen and the Keno draw would occur.

It should be noted prior to the expiration of the secondary game timeperiod, if the player elects to complete the game, the player receives asecondary game outcome and an award. The player can then start anotherplay of the secondary game. When the game is triggered the playerreceives another play. Thus the player can elect to build towardoutcomes or receive multiples outcomes during the secondary game timeperiod.

The secondary game time period may be several hours, days or weeks.Further, the player's plays are stored at the player's account. Theplayer may discontinue play and move to different slot machines andcontinue to play toward triggers and build toward an outcome. Thesecondary game may time out for a player when they have received Xtriggers.

The prize awarded from the promotional game can be player points,merchandise, services, cash, free plays of the base game and promotionalcredits which can only be used for wagering or the like. The awardschedule could be akin to a video Poker pay schedule, preferably with asmall consolation prize so the player gets something, for a Pokerembodiment. For other embodiments weighted pay tables could be used toincrease the excitement and expectation of a high award. As but anexample for the football field goal embodiment, the play table for thesecondary game may be configured as below. Other pay tables could beused as well to provide the player with awards from the secondary gameand to encourage play.

Distance Awards Probability (in %) 50 Yards  100 Points ConsolationPrize (60%)  200 Points 20%  500 Points 15% 1000 Points  5% 40 Yards 200 Points Consolation Prize (50%)  500 Points 30% 1000 Points 15% 1500Points  5% 30 Yards  500 Points Consolation Prize (40%) 1000 Points 30%1500 Points 15% 2000 Points 15%

The player's chances and awards increase where the player continues playby seeking re-triggers.

It should further be noted that the system and method of the presentinvention could be employed in mobile gaming environments such as incell phones, PDAs or the like, where and in a manner permitted byregulation. For example, where mobile gaming is not permitted the systemand method could be played for promotional credits such as cell phoneminutes, virtual credits or the like. Further, for example, a cell phoneenvironment, the base functionality which in a gaming environment is thebase game, may, in a non-gaming environment be the use of cell phoneminutes. As the person uses the cell phone the number of minutes usedmay accumulate to a trigger value to launch the secondary game featurein the manner described above. In such an instance rather than a primarygame, the cell phone device operates to display device features (such asmenus, number called, incoming call, etc.). Rather than receiving awager the system/device has serial inputs such as calls made, receivedor made and received.

Still further, the theme and nature of the secondary game may beselectable by the player or may be selected by the operator consistentwith holidays, time of year, special promotions or the like.

1. A system for playing a secondary game in a network of play devices ofthe type having at least one display, a processor for controlling adisplay to display at least one primary device feature, each devicereceiving serial inputs to operate discrete operational functions, saidsystem comprising: a system server including a data structure storing(i) account data for each player, (ii) data corresponding to apredetermined secondary game trigger, said trigger data corresponding toat least one of said serial inputs or primary device feature and (iii)data representing at least a schedule of winning secondary game outcomesand awards there for; a communication network to provide communicationsbetween each play device and the server; at least one of said serverand/or play devices configured to (i) sense data related to said triggerto determine a correspondence with said trigger condition, (ii) controla display to display to the player a secondary game having first odds ofobtaining at least one award, (iii) control said display to display saidsecondary game having greater second odds upon sensing datacorresponding to a second trigger condition (iv) select and display at adisplay an outcome for said secondary game and (v) if the selectedoutcome corresponds to a winning secondary outcome, issue thecorresponding award to the player.
 2. The system of claim 1 comprisingsaid play devices are gaming devices, said processor controlling thedisplay to display a primary device feature of a game, said systemserver including a data structure storing data corresponding to asecondary game trigger related to the amounts wagered for serial playthe game.
 3. A method for playing a secondary game in a network of playdevices of the type having at least one display, a processor forcontrolling a display to display at least one primary device feature,each device receiving serial inputs to operate discrete operationalfunctions, said method comprising: storing at a system server (i)account data for each player, (ii) data corresponding to a predeterminedsecondary game trigger, said trigger data corresponding to at least oneof said serial inputs or primary device feature and (iii) datarepresenting at least a schedule of winning secondary game outcomes andawards there for; each play device communicating with the server;configuring at least one of said server and/or play devices to (i) sensedata related to said trigger to determine a correspondence with saidtrigger condition, (ii) control a display to display to the player asecondary game having first odds of obtaining at least one award, (iii)control said display to display said secondary game having greatersecond odds upon sensing data corresponding to a second triggercondition (iv) select and display at a display an outcome for saidsecondary game and (v) issue an award if the selected outcomecorresponds to a winning secondary outcome.
 4. The method of claim 3comprising said play devices are gaming devices, said processorcontrolling the display to display a primary device feature of a game,said method comprising storing at said system server data correspondingto a secondary game trigger related to the amounts wagered for serialplay the game.